Startup/Growth Consultant Mentor for Founders/Execs Human Experience Specialist
Well that's a question I ask myself daily. Also one I ask the entrepreneurs and leaders I
work with. If you don't know who you are, and you don't know what really matters to you...
then you don't really know where you're going... and you'll probably end up somewhere else.
What matters to me is connecting to Source, being the best father I can be, continuously
evolving, and making positive, healthy moves for myself, my family, and the world.
Areas of expertise:
1) Ideation, vision & startup phase - from 50,000 feet to where rubber meets road
2) Taking a solid foundation/product & blowing it up exponentially
3) Perfecting your product or service interface & workflow (aka Human Experience)
4) Turnaround - if you are stuck or stagnant & need new eyes, new lifeblood and change
5) How to Message and Sell your company (fundraising), product or service
A bit about where I'm coming from...
Experience
Many years ago I bought a $64 How-To book (for would-be programmers) and started a software company.
Thanks to the hard work and genius of many others that came along, it eventually sold for ~$2B.
Some of my solopreneur success sprang from luck and timing, and some because of skills I had but didn't realize.
I know what it's like to succeed wildly. I also know what it's like to fail miserably.
I know how it feels to be both praised and cursed for my product and services.
I now recognize the early signs that telegraph success and failure, and they have to do with the following...
Values
What REALLY matters?
Not just for your company, but for you, personally?
Quantify this, codify it, and specifically utilize it in every decision you make...
How to market & brand, who to hire (and fire), and how to assess goals/victory.
Vision/Ideation
Founders and leaders fall in two general categories: Visionary and Operational.
Both are equally important.
Visionary leaders should guide & steer the ship/product. Operational leaders navigate, support & reign in.
This results in a meaningful - and lasting - connection to your customer.
Story
Humans love stories - they drive everything we do.
Trying to raise money, or attract & keep the best people, or increase sales?
Story, story, and story.
Recognize, distill down, organize, articulate and trumpet your story. It guides and attracts.
The HUMAN Experience
Success or failure boils down to the quality of the experience of the human beings in your ecosystem:
Your team, your investors, and especially your customers.
Fearlessly scrutinize every facet of your business and assess the actual quality of the human experience.
Obsess over and relentlessly improve The Human Experience in all things.
It's All Connected
What really matters to you informs your values.
Values inform vision, ideation and leadership style. These combine to create your story.
The way you "tell" that story - in all things - creates a human experience.
This will happen... either by default, or by intention, and determine your success or failure.
Who am I?
My Story...
My entry into the business and technology world began in Los Angeles when, not burdened by knowledge or experience, I bought a $64 How-To book for beginning programmers (the Microsoft Access Bible) and started "HardBody SoftWare."
That was the genesis of Mindbody, which eventually helped to empower the boutique fitness/wellness revolution and at one point provided client scheduling & business management software for over 50K customers in more than 100 countries.
Mindbody went public in 2015, and then private in 2019 when it sold for $1.9 Billion. I stepped away from the company shortly thereafter, and spent my time writing, consulting, mentoring, helping to launch startups, and being the best single father I can to a profoundly intelligent, beautiful and amazing daughter.
My Why? I'm motivated by personal growth & evolution, pursuing my spiritual center and the things that really matter, like family, friends, and making a positive difference when and where I can. One of the things that drives me is connecting, collaborating and creating with like-minded and like-hearted people.
